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Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Dallas' Tony Romo impress with their ability to strike downfield after leaving the pocket.
Cincinnati's Carson Palmer dazzles with his arm strength and his ability to sniff out opposing defenses.
Houston's Matt Schaub has a better feel for the pocket than most, while Jacksonville's David Garrard brings poise and a high football IQ to the quarterback position.
For all their differences, most of the NFL's promising young quarterbacks share a striking similarity in the eyes of scouts and coaches: They can't touch Denver's Jay Cutler for sheer potential.
Asked to evaluate 11 young starters, experts singled out Cutler as the quarterback most likely to reach the elite status currently shared by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
"The kid in Denver, to me he is the future of this league," an AFC pro scout said.
"I would jump on that boat," an NFC personnel director said. "He isn't quite there, but you see those flashes of a guy who, once he has the whole playbook in his mind and he's made all the mistakes he needs to make in learning it, man, he's going to be a special player."
ESPN.com granted anonymity to two pro scouts, one personnel director, a defensive coordinator and a defensive backs coach in exchange for unvarnished evaluations.
The experts analyzed starting quarterbacks younger than 30 and with fewer than four seasons of starting experience. San Francisco's Alex Smith and Arizona's Matt Leinart fell from consideration because neither has established himself as a long-term starter.
That left 11 young quarterbacks standing: Roethlisberger, Romo, Palmer, Schaub, Garrard, Cleveland's Derek Anderson, San Diego's Philip Rivers, Tennessee's Vince Young, Washington's Jason Campbell, the New York Giants' Eli Manning and, of course, Cutler.
STRONG BUY
Jay Cutler, Broncos
The second-year pro has completed better than 60 percent of his passes through his first 18 regular-season starts, but the numbers don't begin to explain what separates Cutler from the others.
"I love him," the AFC scout said. "He's athletic, poised, smart, accurate -- and there was just something about that kid coming out, the way he was wired."
The Broncos have had problems surrounding Cutler with a consistent supporting cast. Losing veteran center Tom Nalen was a significant setback. Top receiver Javon Walker has hardly played. Top running back Travis Henry has 34 carries over the last seven games.
Cutler's numbers have suffered as a result, but he's still averaging 7.9 yards per attempt, putting him up there with Brett Favre (7.96) and Peyton Manning (7.9).
"He has an unbelievable career ahead of him," the NFC personnel director said. "He is Romo [in terms of confidence] with the physical tools to match. He's fun to watch because he's kind of like the kid who plays quarterback down at the playground. 'Let's just go play.'"
Cutler, 24, has less experience than the other quarterbacks on our list, leaving more for the imagination. But his poise and physical ability are obvious already.
"He has a cannon of an arm, obviously, and when he's in the pocket, he has the arm strength to make all the throws," an NFC pro scout said. "Throw in the fact that he can move around and buy additional time, and he's got a pretty impressive arsenal in terms of ability and arm strength and feet."
BUY
Tony Romo, Cowboys
Few quarterbacks produce more with less obvious physical ability. That's not intended as a criticism, either. Romo has enough physical ability, no question, but his confidence makes him especially dangerous.
"If you put him in the room with great quarterbacks and broke down their qualities, you wouldn't say this guy is No. 1 in any of those things," the NFC personnel director said. "But he might be No. 1 in confidence. I think he gets a lot of stuff done with attitude and mind-set and preparation and confidence."
The approach is working. Romo, 27, has 35 touchdowns and a 107.7 rating this season for the best team in the NFC. He's averaging 8.6 yards per attempt and has been sacked just 19 times in 13 starts this season. The Cowboys are getting elite production from a player with only 23 regular-season starts.
"He throws a nice ball, one of those catchable balls," the secondary coach said. "He's not going to have the biggest arm, but he's accurate."
Most quarterbacks worry about backside pressure when moving outside the pocket. Romo seems unperturbed. And he's more dangerous than other quarterbacks once he breaks outside containment.
"He always keeps his head up when he's outside the pocket," the NFC pro scout said. "Most guys look five or 10 yards down the field, but it's like Romo looks 40 yards downfield and works his way back. He'll throw to the other side of the field and a guy will be uncovered because everyone [bailed]."
ROMO WATCH
Bullish: Accurate, mobile, able to strike downfield after leaving the pocket. Off-the-charts confidence and a strong supporting cast help him approach elite status.
Bearish: Lacks the raw physical attributes of other quarterbacks on this list, notably pure arm strength.
2007 TD passes 20 or more yards
Player TDs
Tony Romo 18
Tom Brady 14
Peyton Manning 12
Brett Favre 9
Derek Anderson 9
For rest of the story... http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=sando_mike&id=3142771
Cincinnati's Carson Palmer dazzles with his arm strength and his ability to sniff out opposing defenses.
Houston's Matt Schaub has a better feel for the pocket than most, while Jacksonville's David Garrard brings poise and a high football IQ to the quarterback position.
For all their differences, most of the NFL's promising young quarterbacks share a striking similarity in the eyes of scouts and coaches: They can't touch Denver's Jay Cutler for sheer potential.
Asked to evaluate 11 young starters, experts singled out Cutler as the quarterback most likely to reach the elite status currently shared by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
"The kid in Denver, to me he is the future of this league," an AFC pro scout said.
"I would jump on that boat," an NFC personnel director said. "He isn't quite there, but you see those flashes of a guy who, once he has the whole playbook in his mind and he's made all the mistakes he needs to make in learning it, man, he's going to be a special player."
ESPN.com granted anonymity to two pro scouts, one personnel director, a defensive coordinator and a defensive backs coach in exchange for unvarnished evaluations.
The experts analyzed starting quarterbacks younger than 30 and with fewer than four seasons of starting experience. San Francisco's Alex Smith and Arizona's Matt Leinart fell from consideration because neither has established himself as a long-term starter.
That left 11 young quarterbacks standing: Roethlisberger, Romo, Palmer, Schaub, Garrard, Cleveland's Derek Anderson, San Diego's Philip Rivers, Tennessee's Vince Young, Washington's Jason Campbell, the New York Giants' Eli Manning and, of course, Cutler.
STRONG BUY
Jay Cutler, Broncos
The second-year pro has completed better than 60 percent of his passes through his first 18 regular-season starts, but the numbers don't begin to explain what separates Cutler from the others.
"I love him," the AFC scout said. "He's athletic, poised, smart, accurate -- and there was just something about that kid coming out, the way he was wired."
The Broncos have had problems surrounding Cutler with a consistent supporting cast. Losing veteran center Tom Nalen was a significant setback. Top receiver Javon Walker has hardly played. Top running back Travis Henry has 34 carries over the last seven games.
Cutler's numbers have suffered as a result, but he's still averaging 7.9 yards per attempt, putting him up there with Brett Favre (7.96) and Peyton Manning (7.9).
"He has an unbelievable career ahead of him," the NFC personnel director said. "He is Romo [in terms of confidence] with the physical tools to match. He's fun to watch because he's kind of like the kid who plays quarterback down at the playground. 'Let's just go play.'"
Cutler, 24, has less experience than the other quarterbacks on our list, leaving more for the imagination. But his poise and physical ability are obvious already.
"He has a cannon of an arm, obviously, and when he's in the pocket, he has the arm strength to make all the throws," an NFC pro scout said. "Throw in the fact that he can move around and buy additional time, and he's got a pretty impressive arsenal in terms of ability and arm strength and feet."
BUY
Tony Romo, Cowboys
Few quarterbacks produce more with less obvious physical ability. That's not intended as a criticism, either. Romo has enough physical ability, no question, but his confidence makes him especially dangerous.
"If you put him in the room with great quarterbacks and broke down their qualities, you wouldn't say this guy is No. 1 in any of those things," the NFC personnel director said. "But he might be No. 1 in confidence. I think he gets a lot of stuff done with attitude and mind-set and preparation and confidence."
The approach is working. Romo, 27, has 35 touchdowns and a 107.7 rating this season for the best team in the NFC. He's averaging 8.6 yards per attempt and has been sacked just 19 times in 13 starts this season. The Cowboys are getting elite production from a player with only 23 regular-season starts.
"He throws a nice ball, one of those catchable balls," the secondary coach said. "He's not going to have the biggest arm, but he's accurate."
Most quarterbacks worry about backside pressure when moving outside the pocket. Romo seems unperturbed. And he's more dangerous than other quarterbacks once he breaks outside containment.
"He always keeps his head up when he's outside the pocket," the NFC pro scout said. "Most guys look five or 10 yards down the field, but it's like Romo looks 40 yards downfield and works his way back. He'll throw to the other side of the field and a guy will be uncovered because everyone [bailed]."
ROMO WATCH
Bullish: Accurate, mobile, able to strike downfield after leaving the pocket. Off-the-charts confidence and a strong supporting cast help him approach elite status.
Bearish: Lacks the raw physical attributes of other quarterbacks on this list, notably pure arm strength.
2007 TD passes 20 or more yards
Player TDs
Tony Romo 18
Tom Brady 14
Peyton Manning 12
Brett Favre 9
Derek Anderson 9
For rest of the story... http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=sando_mike&id=3142771
